Internal brace construction for aeroplanes



APPLICATION FILED MARZI. I921.

Patented Dec. 12, 1922.

In z/enfor Patented Deco l2,

STATES OSMOND THERON BELGHER, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TOBELCHER AERIAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPDRATION OF CALIFORNIA.

INTERNAL BBACE CONSTRUCTION FOR AEROPLANES.

Application filed March 21, 1921.

T (ZZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that I. Osaroxn THnRoN BnLcHnn, a citizen of the UnitedStates. residing at Los Angelesin the county of Los Angeles and State ofialit'ornia, have 1nvented new and useful Improvements in Internal BraceConstructions tor Aeroplanes, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to aeroplane construction and is directed moreparticularly to the improvement of the internal bracing of wing andfuselage structures: the objects being to provide a method of internalbracingwhich has great strength and lightness of weight; a bracing whichis continuone and without joints even tho angular in form and a bracingwhich is asstrong at the points of contact with the members it supportsas it .is between those points.

lVith reference to the drawings Figure l is an enlarged view, in sideelevation of a section of the novel means of bracing which forms thesubject matter of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a view in side elevation show: ing a cantilever wingspar-construction.

Figure 3 illustrates the cross-Section ot a monoplane wing in which thepresent invention is embodied.

Figure 4 shows in end View the bracing disposed in a zigzag manner fromcord members common to two individual brace elements.

Figure 5 is a top view of the structure shown in end viewvin Fig. at.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a pair of blocks used in the jointsbetween the bracing and the members which they support.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of the blocks shown inFig. 6.

Figure 8 shows in a top view a block used in the construction disclosedin Figs. 4 and 5.

In the prior art in the internal bracing of aeroplane wings andfuselage, with reference more particularly to monoplane con-= struction,the zigzag or diagonal bracing has been carried use of short out withthe sticks of wood joined angularly at 'their ends and with the cord areintended to brace using screws, reenforcing members which they 7 bolts,plates and the like, the weakest Serial No. 454,269. I

thin enough to admit their being bent to substantially right angleshaving quite a sharp turn at the bend without breaking the fiber of thewood.

A strip of wood, ha in; been first pre-' pared steaming. is then bentintoia continuous zigzag brace member with sharp bends l and straightintermediate sections 2 between the bends. A second wood strip is thenbent and glued against the first and so on until a continuous laminatedangular brace element 3 is built up. Should the wood strips not be longenough they may be lengthened indefinitely by shaving off the ends andlap-gluing other strips'to them.

in mounting: such a continuous brace element between two cord members 4and 4, as in Figs. 1. 2 and 3. seats 5 may be formed in the cord members4- and 4 adapted to receive the bends of the brace 3 or better, in orderto retain the full strength of the cords the necessary seats may beformed in upraised portions milled on the cord members or by gluing"thereto a couplet of blocks 6 such as are shown in Fig. 6, or a singleblock '7 having a thin connecting back such as is shown in Fig. 7. Thebends of the brace being seated in the seats 5 on the cords with. glueare then wound with thread 8 to the cords thus forming a braceconstruction that is as light and as strong at the points of connectionwith the members which it supports as it is in the tween those points.

In the construction of a spar, as shown in Fig. cords t and 4 ol thespar are heavier at the base than at the tip and the brace element maybe made heavier at the base end of the cantilever by dropping alamination of that element at intervals as shown at B, C, and D. thusdecreasing the weight. and strength of the brace element outwardly; orthe b ace element may be formed twice the average cantilever wine"straight connecting sections 2 be I 2, the upper and lower widthnecessary and sawed diagonally. from end to end. thereby making twozigzag brace elements of an evenly decreasing strength and weight justthe cord members decrease in size from base to tip.

In the development of cantilever spars tor wing construction and tor useelsewhere the form of bracing shown in Figs. --;land 5 may be adapted.In this form of construction the lower cord members are disposed betweenthe upper cord members, relative to a vertical alignment and thecontinuous brace elements 3 are mounted anglingly be tween the cordmembers, there. being two brace elements fixed-to each cord member.

In assembling such a structure blocks 9 such as are shown in Fig. 8 areused, the blocks having two seats 5, 5 properly -faced to receive thetwo brace elements. Such a structure has not only great strength alongthe line of the cords but also great lateral rigidity.

It is to be understood that the brace construction herein set forthadaptable to the fuselage structure as well as the longitudina andtransverse bracing of wings.

The present invention may be constructed of many kinds of wood or otherlike material and the number of laminations in the brace and theangularity of the brace sections may be widely varied spirit of theinvention as claimed.

Claims:

1. A brace construction for aeroplanes comprising thin strips of woodbent and glued together to form a wood lamination having sharp bends andstraight intermemeans for seating without departing from the,

diate sections, cord members adapted toextend on each side. of theangular lamination,

the bends ot the lamination against the cord members and means forholding the bends of the lamination into the seating means abovementioned.

A brace construction for aeroplanes comprising cord members, brace seatsformed at intervals along the cord members and. adapted to receivethe anles of a zigzag brace element, the zigzag race element formed ofcontinuous wood strips glued one upon. another and bent to form properarr gles and straight intermediate sections and adapted to be mountedbetween the cord members with the angles seated in the brace seats ofthe cord members and means for positively holding the angles of thebrace element in the seats on the cord members.

A method of internal bracing for aeroplanes and the like consisting ofbending wood strips, glued one upon another, into a continuous zigzagbrace element having as sharp bends as can be made without breaking thefiber of the wood and having substantially straight intermediatesections between the bends, of forming adequate seats upon the membersintended to be supporte by the zigzag brace element adapted to receivethe bends thereof. of gluing the bends into the seats and of binding thebends into the. seats with thread wound around the supported members andthrough the bends of the brace element.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

OSMOND THERON BELCHER.

